My cousin-in-law helped me achieve my ambitions.

Su Ming massaged Qiu Tong for nearly twenty minutes.

He had learned massage, but hadn't practiced it much; he'd only seen his grandfather do it for a neighbor who had sprained their ankle back in his hometown. He imitated his grandfather, gently rubbing Qiu Tong's swollen ankle with his palm, applying just the right amount of pressure, keeping it as even as possible.

Qiu Tong leaned back on the sofa, closed her eyes, and occasionally hissed as she gasped for breath, but did not cry out in pain.

The living room was quiet. The fan on the coffee table creaked and groaned, blowing out warm air. Occasionally, the calls of vendors downstairs and the roar of passing cars could be heard from outside the window.

But in this room, there were only two people, a lamp, and an indescribable silence.

Su Ming lowered his head, staring intently at her ankle, not daring to look up. His fingers touched her cool skin, and he could feel her occasionally twitch slightly in pain. He tried his best to keep his breathing steady, but his heartbeat just wouldn't slow down.

Qiu Tong's feet were small and delicate, her toes painted with light pink nail polish that shimmered under the light. Her ankles were slender, but now they were red and swollen, and felt slightly hot in his palm.

"Are you feeling better?" Su Ming asked softly.

"Hmm." Qiu Tong responded lazily, opened her eyes, looked down, and said, "It's not as swollen anymore."

She tried to rotate her ankle, and although it still hurt a little, it was no longer as impossible to put weight on it as before.

"Your technique is pretty good," she said with a smile.

Su Ming didn't reply. He lowered his head and gently placed her feet back on the slippers, then stood up and took the towel back to the bathroom.

When he came out, Qiu Tong was on the phone.

"Okay, I won't go tonight... I sprained my ankle... It's nothing, I'll be fine after a night's rest... Okay, bye."

She hung up the phone, tossed it on the coffee table, and shrugged at Su Ming: "I've taken the leave."

Su Ming nodded and sat down in the chair opposite her.

Neither of them spoke.

The fan was still running. The wall clock ticked away.

Su Ming stared at the unopened pack of sanitary napkins on the coffee table. Suddenly realizing that the thing was still out in the open, his face flushed slightly. He reached out and moved the bag to the side, but didn't know where to put it, so he just placed it at his feet.

Qiu Tong watched his series of clumsy movements, the corners of her mouth slightly curved up, but she didn't laugh out loud.

"What time are you going to report for duty tomorrow?" she asked.

"HR said to go for a medical check-up first, and to arrive before 4:30 pm."

"oh."

They're speechless again.

Su Ming felt he should say something. But his mind was blank, and all the topics he had thought of seemed inappropriate when he tried to speak. He secretly glanced at Qiu Tong—she was leaning against the back of the sofa, her head tilted, lost in thought.

Noticing his gaze, she turned her face away.

Their eyes met briefly in mid-air before quickly looking away.

It's like I've done something wrong.

Su Ming felt the atmosphere was really strange. They were clearly his cousin's wife and cousin, and they had eaten and shopped together last night, so why were they sitting together like two strangers who had just met on a blind date?

Qiu Tong suddenly yawned.

"I'm sleepy." She rubbed her eyes. "I'm going to take a warm shower and go to bed early."

She stood up and tested her ankle—it still hurt a little, but she could walk with difficulty. Holding onto the wall, she slowly moved into the bedroom, rummaged through the closet for a set of pajamas, and then moved into the bathroom.

"Splash!"

That's the sound of a tap being turned on.

Su Ming sat in the living room, staring at the television screen—the television was off, the room was dark, reflecting only his own blurry image. He tried to think about other things: tomorrow's medical checkup, his new job, that girl named Yang Tian…

But all I could hear in my head was the sound of water running in the bathroom.

He took a deep breath, picked up the remote control from the coffee table, and turned on the TV. The local channel was broadcasting the news, and the anchor was talking about investment promotion with a stern face, but he couldn't hear a word of it.

Just then, my cousin's wife called out.

"what!"

A scream came from the bathroom.

Su Ming jumped up and rushed to the bathroom almost instinctively.

The door wasn't closed properly, and he pushed it open...

Then he froze.

Qiu Tong was naked, her arms wrapped around her chest, shivering in the corner of the bathroom. Her hair was half wet, water droplets sliding down her shoulders and glistening in the light. Her eyes were filled with terror, her lips were pale, like a frightened fawn.

"What's wrong, cousin-in-law!" Su Ming rushed to her side without thinking.

"There... there..." Qiu Tong raised her hand tremblingly and pointed to a corner of the ceiling.

Su Ming looked in the direction she was pointing and saw a dark gecko crawling on the ceiling.

It was about the length of an index finger, lying motionless in the corner of the ceiling.

Su Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's nothing, just a gecko," he said.

"I'm scared..." Qiu Tong's voice trembled with tears, completely devoid of her usual shrewdness and competence. "You need to get rid of it quickly..."

As she spoke, she suddenly turned around and threw herself into Su Ming's arms.

Su Ming froze.

Warm, soft, and wet—he could clearly feel every curve of her body pressed against his, smell the scent of shower gel in her hair, and feel her trembling slightly with fear.

His mind went blank with a "buzz".

I wanted to push him away.

But I couldn't bear to push it away.

I don't even want to push it away.

His hand hovered in mid-air, frozen for a few seconds, before finally gently landing on her back, patting her awkwardly.

"It's alright, cousin-in-law... I'll chase it away..." His voice was strained, as if something was blocking his throat.

Qiu Tong didn't say anything, but buried her face in his shoulder and hugged his neck tightly.

Su Ming could feel his heart pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of his chest. He forced himself not to think about things he shouldn't, but his body wouldn't listen to him.

He took a deep breath and gently patted her back: "Sister-in-law, let go first, I'll take it away."

Qiu Tong slowly released him, took a step back, still holding her arms to her chest, her eyes red-rimmed.

Su Ming didn't dare look at her, turned around and looked up at the gecko on the ceiling.

He took two steps back, ran, and leaped into the air.

With a flick of his fingers, he precisely pinched the gecko's body.

The entire set of movements was clean and crisp, as if it had been practiced hundreds of times.

"Ah!" Qiu Tong screamed again, "No! Don't kill it!"

Su Ming landed firmly, holding the wriggling little thing in his palm, and looked back at her.

Qiu Tong huddled in the corner, looking both afraid of the gecko and afraid that he would kill it, which made him seem somewhat childish.

"Never mind!" she whispered. "It didn't mean it... Don't hurt it, just let it go."

Su Ming nodded, walked to the balcony, and placed the gecko on the wall.

The little creature paused for a moment, then quickly scurried into the night.

Su Ming stood on the balcony, enjoying the night breeze for a while, before turning around and going back inside.

He was about to walk towards the living room when he heard Qiu Tong's voice coming from the bathroom.

"Su Ming, come here for a moment."

Su Ming paused in his steps.

"what?"

Come here.

He moved to the bathroom doorway.

The door was ajar, and through the crack, Qiu Tong's profile could be seen—she was standing under the shower again, warm water sliding down her shoulders and following the curves of her body. The bathroom was filled with steam, and the lights became hazy in the mist.

Su Ming's heart pounded wildly.

"Sister-in-law... what's wrong?" His voice was strained.

"I'm scared," Qiu Tong's voice came through the sound of water, tinged with a hint of coquetry. "Why don't you come in and keep me company? Otherwise, I won't be able to take a bath."

Su Ming was in a real bind.

Who the hell could stand this?

He stood at the doorway, caught in a dilemma.

Qiu Tong waited a few seconds, but received no response. Her voice held a hint of grievance: "Do you really hate me?"

"No!" Su Ming quickly shook his head. "Sister-in-law, I didn't... I just felt it wasn't appropriate..."

"But I'm scared!" Qiu Tong turned around, looking at him through the half-open door, her eyes still red. "What should I do?"

Su Ming was speechless.

He couldn't very well say she was being dramatic—she was genuinely scared, and her reaction just now couldn't be faked.

"Come in first," Qiu Tong softened her voice. "As long as you have nothing to hide, everything will be fine."

"Sister-in-law, I really didn't have any other thoughts..." Su Ming said, though she herself didn't quite believe it.

"That's settled then." Qiu Tong's lips curled into a mischievous smile. "Come in!"

Su Ming gritted his teeth and pushed the door open to go inside.

He stood by the bathroom door with his head down, his gaze fixed on the slippers on his feet, not daring to lift his head even slightly.

The water was splashing.

He could feel Qiu Tong just a few steps away from him, the warm water washing over her body, water droplets splashing on the ground, and occasionally a few drops landing at his feet.

"Lift your head up!" Qiu Tong said.

Su Ming shook his head.

"What are you afraid of?"

Su Ming remained silent.

Qiu Tong chuckled softly and didn't press him any further. She turned on the shower and let the warm water wash over her body. Then she squeezed out some shower gel, lathered it in her palms, and slowly applied it to her arms, shoulders, and neck.